KARACHI, Jan 19: In the year 2006, 4,386 incidents of violence against children had been observed, said Zia Ahmed Awan in a press briefing organised by the Madadgar (a helpline and protection service for children and women) at its office.

Mr Awan said it was alarming that 704 children were reportedly murdered while 637 were sexually assaulted last year. The incidents of sexual abuse were common among both male and female children, he said, and pointed out that 340 girls were raped while 297 boys were sodomised.

Expressing his concern over the suicide cases, he said there was hardly any case of suicide among children in the past, however, 180 children committed suicide last year.

Apart from that the most horrendous act done with the forbearers of future was slaughtering on the name of honour, he said. “Forty-one children were butchered on the name of karo kari in 2006,” he added. Besides, he said more than thousand children were kidnapped.

In Karachi, 794 children were victimised, of them 66 were sexually abused, 90 murdered, 377 went missing, 16 committed suicide, 90 kidnapped, 13 were tortured by police officials, nine trafficked and 133 were physically tortured.

He said the poor and corrupt practices of the law enforcement agencies was one of the major reasons for the rising crime rate against children in the country. He also expressed grief over the situation of the juvenile prisons and shelters in the country.

Mr Awan pointed out that the Sindh Children Act 1955, an offshoot of Bombay Children Act, safeguarded the rights of children. “However, not even the police officials are aware of it what to talk of the masses,” he remarked.

He mentioned that a bill to protect children’s right was presented to the parliament a long time ago, sketched by Unicef, the ministry of social welfare and NGOs.

Various recommendations were also made by the Madadgaar Helpline to improve the existing system. The situation called for the Children Protection Bill passed, he said adding that it is the government’s responsibility to check such incidents.